RichardsonWatch: "I Won't Wait For '08"

Thanks to the Imus Show Blog, run by a loyal fan, Big Roy, you can now listen to exactly what the I-Man had to say about Bill Richardson, Pahl Shipley and the Richardson For President Campaign Staff this morning.

King said his office would also look into a request by Rawson to give an opinion on whether Richardson is violating state law by soliciting contributions for his presidential bid during the legislative session.

The state's Campaign Reporting Act prohibits the governor and the Legislature from soliciting contributions "for a political purpose" during and immediately before and after a legislative session.

King said he has already assigned an attorney to look into the matter.

That's how MSNBC describes Imus and this morning was a perfect example.

The host of Imus in the Morning, Don Imus, the I-Man sent a message to Governor Bill Richardson: "You and your staff are hardly ready for prime time."

Your staff is arrogant and incompetent.

They don't tell you what's going on.

You have no business running for president with the staff you have.

Hmm, I didn't know the I-Man was a fan of NewMexicoMatters.

Imus, at about 7:20 est and 5:20 am our time, dropped a ton of bricks on The Richardson For President Campaign. announced that Gov. Bill Richardson was supposed to be on his show this morning, but cancelled this morning.

The reason, Imus said, was that the Governor's staff called Bernard this morning and said the Governor (Bill Richardson) wouldn't come on the show unless Imus apologized for comments he made about the Governor earlier (which I missed), criticizing him for the manner in which Richardson's office handled a community matter re: an old school house in Ribera that community members want turned into a community center.

Imus gave the whole story, saying that he and his wife had contributed $25,000 to start a million dollar renovation of a land mark building, and old school house in Ribera, where the Imus Ranch for Kids with Cancer is located. Dedra, Imus' wife, contacted the Governor's office and requested that the Governor look at the proposal and let person leading the effort know whether or not this was something the state could help with. This was over the summer. Imus told the audiennce this morning that what proceeded was 6 months of b.s. from the Gov's "incompetent staff." Sounds about right.

I don't know who had the bright idea to demand an apology from Imus, but it was stupid. You have to wonder.

Imus went onto describe the Governors staff as a bunch of sycophantic latte-sucking nitwits in Santa Fe.

That the Governor hardly had any business running for President. Did I say that already?

I'll have more later. The bottom line is that Imus said many things this morning that I suspect the Governor has heard before, or at the very least, Contarino and Cooper have.

I just don't know if the Governor really cares about what the quality of the campaign staff really says about him.

JANUARY 2001: Leaves the federal government. Begins work as senior managing director of [Henry] Kissinger McLarty Associates, headed by the former secretary of state. He also takes work as a part-time lecturer at Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and United World College in Montezuma, N.M., and gets named to boards of several businesses and organizations.

Richardson has unparalleled experience and proven record of success as a Congressman, UN Ambassador, Energy Secretary, and Governor

SANTA FE, NM--New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson today announced the formation of a Presidential campaign exploratory committee, with the clear intention of seeking the Democratic nomination for President in 2008.

"I am taking this step because we have to repair the damage that's been done to our country over the last six years," said Richardson. "Our reputation in the world is diminished, our economy has languished, and civility and common decency in government has perished."

"The next president of the United States must get our troops out of Iraq without delay. Before I became Governor of New Mexico, I served as Ambassador to the United Nations and as Secretary of Energy. I know the Middle East well and it's clear that our presence in Iraq isn't helping any longer," said Richardson.

"Our next President must be able to bring a country together that is divided and partisan," said Richardson. "It is clear that Washington is broken and it's going to take a return to bipartisanship and simple respect for each other's views to get it fixed. Most public policy solutions these days are coming from Governors and state government. On issues like the environment, jobs, and health care, state governments are leading the way. And that's because we can't be partisan or we won't get our jobs done. That's a lesson I've learned as Governor and that's what I'll do as President."

When New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson speaks about embracing diversity, the American dream, and public service, he speaks from unparalleled experience. Born November 15, 1947 in Pasadena, California to an American father and Mexican mother, Governor Richardson grew up in Mexico City before moving to New England, where he attended high school and college. He has dedicated his life to public service, as a United States Congressman, Ambassador to the United Nations, Secretary of Energy, and now as Governor of New Mexico.

This past November, Richardson won re-election to his second term as Governor of New Mexico with a resounding 69% of the vote, the largest margin of victory in state history. He was supported by Democrats, Republicans and Independents, winning in both urban and rural counties. New Mexicans overwhelmingly endorsed Governor Richardson's aggressive efforts to improve education, cut taxes, build a high-wage economy, expand health care access, invest in renewable energy and make New Mexico safer.

Bill Richardson's fiscally responsible governing style has allowed New Mexico to tackle important priorities, while maintaining a balanced budget and the highest reserves in state history. He cut $230 million in bureaucratic waste, invested in new opportunities for New Mexico's children and returned more than $1 billion dollars in taxes to working families. His innovative policies have turned New Mexico's economy around, with 84,000 new jobs, rising personal income and a growing high tech sector that includes manufacturing, aviation, and renewable energy.

As Secretary of Energy to President Bill Clinton, Bill Richardson implemented tough efficiency standards to save energy. And as Governor, he has made New Mexico the Clean Energy State by requiring utility companies to produce energy through renewable resources and reduce carbon emissions.

Before becoming Governor, Bill Richardson served in Congress for 15 years and helped President Clinton pass the economic plan that created millions of jobs and led America to its first balanced budget in 30 years.

Appointed by President Clinton as the Ambassador to the United Nations, Bill Richardson worked with world leaders to build alliances and help prevent the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Bill Richardson has been nominated four times for the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the release of hostages, American servicemen and political prisoners in North Korea, Iraq, and Cuba. Governor Richardson recently negotiated a 60-day cease fire in war-torn Darfur following direct talks with rebel leaders and the President of Sudan.

As Chairman of the Democratic Governor's Association, Governor Richardson raised more than $28 million for gubernatorial candidates and helped elect the first Democratic majority of governors since 1994. Governor Richardson also served as Chair of the Western Governors Association, Border Governor's Conference and the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

Bill Richardson has been married to his high school sweetheart, Barbara, for 33 years. Richardson received a BA from Tufts in 1970 and a MA from Tuft's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1971.

The Bill Richardson for President Exploratory Committee will be headquartered in New Mexico. Key staff will include:

Dave Contarino: Contarino ran Richardson's first campaign for Governor, served as his Chief of Staff for 3 years and most recently was the Chair of his re-election campaign.

Amanda Cooper: Cooper was Richardson's re-election Campaign Manager and Fundraising Director. Cooper oversaw raising $14 million for the Governor's re-election campaign and led the effort to raise $28 million for the DGA in Governor Richardson's two year term as Chair.

Pahl Shipley: Shipley was most recently the Communications Director and Chief Spokesperson in the Office of Governor Bill Richardson. Shipley is a 25-year award-winning veteran of television news and prior to working for Richardson, he served as the News Director at KOAT-TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Colleen Turrentine: Turrentine served as the national fundraising director for the Democratic Leadership Council. Before that, she worked for the 2004 Joe Lieberman presidential campaign.

Mike Stratton: Stratton has served in numerous senior roles in several Democratic Presidential Campaigns and has served as a long-time Senior Political Advisor to Richardson.

Mark Putnam: Putnam, a founding partner of Murphy Putnam media, has been a media consultant and campaign strategist for over two decades. He's written, directed, and produced over 1,000 commercials for campaigns in 46 states, including helping elect five Governors, six U.S. Senators, and dozens of members of the U.S. House.

Jeff Eller: Eller is the CEO of Public Strategies in Austin, and a veteran of the Clinton 1992 Campaign and the White House.

Jennifer Yocham Poersch: Yocham Poersch, a former deputy finance director for the 2004 Lieberman campaign, will work with Cooper on national fundraising. Poersch worked for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, including a stint as senior adviser to committee chairwoman, U.S. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington

Joe Velasquez: Velasquez is Richardson's advisor on Labor and Political Affairs. Velasquez was the Head of the Department of Community Service for the AFL-CIO. Additionally, he was a former member of the DNC staff and a Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President Bill Clinton.

Calvin Humphrey: Humphrey has worked with Richardson for many years as his Foreign Policy Advisor, traveling to Iraq and most recently, Sudan on hostage rescue and other missions. Humphrey served as the Democratic Staff Director, Committee on Homeland Security, U.S. House of Representatives and previously was the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of International Affairs.

Andre Pineda: Pineda is the Founder and President of Pineda Consulting, a California-based, Latino-owned firm specializing in political polling and strategic communications. Pineda has over 15 years of experience working for some of the biggest names in the political consulting business - Peter Hart, Geoff Garin, Fred Yang, Rich Schlackman, and Stan Greenberg.

Suzanne Cole Nowers: Nowers is the CEO of Nexus Direct, a top direct marketing firm, who worked for Richardson's re-election and whose clients include the DSCC to coordinate our direct mail fundraising.
To view Governor Bill Richardson's video statement in both English and Spanish please go to: www.richardsonforpresident.com

Bill Richardson for President Exploratory Committee | On The Issues | On The IssuesIraqOur next President must be able to get us out of Iraq -- I think that it's obvious George Bush is too stubborn to face the reality that our presence in Iraq isn't helping any longer. I've served as our Ambassador to the UN, President Clinton's Special Envoy, and as Secretary of Energy. I know this region well, I've been there, I even met with Saddam Hussein and secured the release of hostages. And I know what has to be done. We need to be frank with the Iraqis that we've done our part and it's time for them to take over responsibility for their own security. We should take the lead in facilitating national reconciliation and bringing in other countries from the region to do their part, and we need to get real about helping rebuild Iraq and creating jobs for the 40 percent who are out of work. Assuming George Bush doesn't do that, and I think that's a safe assumption, I believe with my foreign policy and diplomatic experience and willingness to state a clear, unequivocal policy I'm the best candidate to get it done. And I'm confident I can make that point in the campaign.

National Security/Foreign PolicyOur next President must be able to restore our standing in the world and I believe I'm the best candidate to do that as well. As someone who has successfully negotiated with some of the world's toughest tyrants, I know face-to-face diplomacy can work. To become a respected international leader again, we need a national security policy that is tough and smart, a military second to none, a firm commitment to building diplomatic alliances, we need to defeat terrorism, and that's our number one national security challenge, we need to promote freedom, alleviate poverty, and stop global warming. The current administration has done none of those things and that means the next president must be able to get started in the first hundred days, again with a clear agenda and proven ability to get the job done.

PartisanshipOur next President must be able to bring a country together that is divided and partisan. That's the way I've operated as Governor and that's what I'll do as President. Frankly, I think Washington is broken and it's going to take a return to bipartisanship and simple respect for each other's views to get it fixed. All the public policy solutions these days are coming from Governors and state government -- on the environment, jobs and the economy, health care -- it's coming from the states. And that's because we can't be partisan or we won't get our jobs done. That's a lesson I've learned as Governor and that's what I would do as President. I just got re-elected with 69 percent of the vote-in a red state- and I got 40 percent of the Republican vote. I can bring people together to solve problems.

Environment/EnergyOur next President must be able to start reversing Global Warming and making real progress on energy independence and that means making a real commitment to renewable sources of energy. That's what I've done in New Mexico where we're requiring that 10 percent of all energy come from renewable sources and we're moving toward 20 percent, we've provided incentives for solar, wind, biofuels and other renewables, and again that's what I'll do as President. As Energy Secretary I implemented tough efficiency standards that have saved consumers billions in energy costs. Everybody talks the talk on these issues -- I've done it.

Jobs/EconomyOur next President must be able to make our economy work for the middle class and start creating good paying jobs again. In New Mexico, one of the poorest states in the nation, we've created 84,000 new jobs, many of them high tech jobs in industries like renewable energy, aerospace, and communications. We've done that with innovative approaches like a tax credit for companies who create good paying jobs, tax incentives for start up high tech businesses, and targeting job creation in rural areas. We've done it by making a real investment in public education, paying our teachers more but tying those increases to tough standards, and by using our resources more wisely, with less money for school administration and more in the classroom. And we did it with tax cuts, the right tax cuts, and with a balanced budget. Getting back to a balanced budget is a big part of sustained economic growth, too, the kind of growth that creates good jobs and actually reduces poverty. And that's what I'll do as President. We need to work with business, that's where the jobs are created after all, instead of engaging in ideological warfare, and we need the right kind of tax incentives, not just tax cuts for the wealthy and income transfers from the middle class to big corporations.

HealthcareWe must work to provide health insurance and access to quality, affordable health care, for all Americans and frankly we'd save a lot of money by doing it. We're spending hundreds of billions of dollars every year paying the costs of health care for the uninsured. In New Mexico, a poor state, we have faced huge health care challenges. However, we've extended health insurance to tens of thousands of New Mexicans -- kids, working families, and small businesses -- and we're working on a plan to cover every person. The bottom line is that people must have good coverage that works.

ImmigrationAs the California-born son of an American father and a Mexican mother, and as the Governor of a border state, I understand better than most the effects of immigration on our country -- legal and illegal. I declared a state of emergency on New Mexico's border to crack down on illegal activity and protect our citizens. I also believe we must pass comprehensive immigration reform to help secure our borders, protect our workers and our economy, and to be true to the ideals that have made this country great -- a country of immigrants.

If the Governor does decide to announce tomorrow, his entrance into the race would stand in contrast to those of Clinton and Obama, both of whom used the web to deliver the message to their supporters directly. But for Richardson, who at times has even come across as desperate for attention from the national media, maybe declaring his intention to an audience of insiders and political junkies outside of New Mexico is best. Alternatively, maybe Richardson's campaigns (DGA, MAF, BR For Gov, NDN) somehow failed to grow any net-roots and just don't have any emails. One way or another, who would have thought this was the way the Governor would announce?

I don't know. Maybe he could shock us all and decide not to run. Compared to Clinton, Obama and Edwards, who each have a constituency of genuinely excited activists anxiously awaiting their candidacy, the only people that seem to be clamoring for Bill Richardson to get in the race seem to be Bill Richardson and all the people who moved to New Mexico to work on his campaign. I wonder how they feel now that Obama's in the race. I bet they didn't see that coming. I wonder how Richardson really feels about the race now that Obama's in?

When Obama announced, Democratic Presidential Wannabees quaked in their boots. They saw what the freshmen senator did to Evan Bayh's executive ambitions in just one weekend in the Granite State. Obama came out of no where and crushed them. By Wednesday, Bayh started leaking what everybody already knew, he didn't have a chance. The surprise was that he was acknowledging it and bowing out of the race before ever getting in it. Could you see Richardson making a similar call?

"George, I've been traveling around the country a lot lately, and I've decided that I'm tired of being confused for that guy from the Sopranos. I think that there's still a lot of work to do in New Mexico, so I've decided not to seek the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, but to finish out my term as Governor of the Great State of New Mexico!"

"Yeah, Come on Governor! You're going to be the first Hispanic candidate for President, you have to run!
"Richardson's Hispanic? Isn't his middle name Blake?"

"Dude, just roll with it."

"Richardson, Richardson, Richardson, Richardson!"

Not likely, I know. Well, I guess we'll just have to tune in tomorrow to see what happens. 'This Week' comes on at 4:00 p.m. on KOAT...wait a second. 4 p.m., you gotta be kidding me. The New Orleans at Chicago game starts at 1 p.m. and the New England at Indianapolis game starts at 4:30 p.m. Who the hell is going to be watching this anyway? Oh, wait, 'This Week' only comes on at 4:00 p.m. in New Mexico. It's on at 9 a.m. back East.

If there were a presidential candidate available who had deep experience in both state and federal government, the executive and legislative branch, and foreign and domestic affairs, would he be rated among the top of the field? How about if the same candidate had the retail political skills to match his policy experience and came from a bellwether state in a battleground part of the country? And what if this person had the sort of national contacts that are a must to raise the significant sums necessary for a run for the White House.

And did we mention he’s part of the nation’s fastest-growing ethnic group, is bilingual, and has a record of getting crossover votes?

We speak, of course, of Democratic New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson. Skeptics and insiders may deride him as a mere “resume candidate” who only looks great “on paper.” But that CV is worth a look: Tufts undergrad followed by a masters from his alma mater’s Fletcher School of Diplomacy; staff stints at the State Department and on Capitol Hill; elected at 35 to the House where he’d spend 15 years; successive appointments as ambassador to the U.N. and secretary of Energy; easy election and reelection as governor and a term as chair of the Democratic Governor’s Association (DGA).

MANCHESTER – Gov. Bill Richardson is leaving a private luncheon at the Puritan Backroom restaurant and getting ready to chat it up with Democratic voters at a house party in Hooksett. But first, he has to make a quick phone call.

"Tell him I want to see, obviously, President Bashir," the New Mexico Democrat tells his scheduler via cell phone as the state trooper at the wheel speeds their SUV onto the interstate. Richardson is referring to Omar al-Bashir, the president of war-torn Sudan, and a "humanitarian mission" the governor is trying to orchestrate.

"Just put, 'Anybody making decisions on U.N. force,'" Richardson tells the woman on the line. "But, you know, certainly the president."